First Board Games Meetup , Mission Accomplished.

Yeah, Pitstop Cafe finally had our first board games meetup! I was pretty worried that our virgin attempt could not get enough participants. To my surprise, we had more than 20 people turn up, babes and hunks included. It was nice to see some new faces, regulars as well as ex-Pitstop crew like Smith, Chris and Carolin.

It is also funny to see their real identity. Especially if you have folks with names like Batman signing up. Some were registered as male turns up to be female. All sort of interesting folks.

Check the pictures below:


The first few to turn up

Since the theme was "Around the World", we picked the following games:


Ticket to Ride Europe. Carolin did Pitstop proud by winning the game :)


Ticket to Ride Marklin...


Thurns and Taxis


and Around the World in 80 Days


Even got special guest Si Mi Fu from China...

Of course, how can we forget to take a group pic. A pity that some left earlier.


Group picture but hey I can'tfind myself in the picture!

More pictures are viewable in the forum so check it out!

Thanks everyone for the support and Alfie for the organizing the program. Hope you guys made new friends and enjoyed yourselves! Feel free to share your thoughts and add in suggestions for future meetup.

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

Have you sign up for the meetup?

Pitstop Cafe first board games meetup will be happening on 5th August next Tuesday. Get this chance to know more new friends. It will be free gaming and free flow of drinks through the night. Here is the update on the meetup.

Theme for the night will be "Around the world". Some of the games that will be making their appearance for the meet up will be:

• Thurns & Taxis
• Around The World In 80 Days
• Ticket To Ride Marklin
• Ticket To Ride Europe
• Ticket To Ride Switzerland
  

Game Organizer: Alfie

Program flow:

7.00 pm – Arrival of guests
7.05 pm – Friends making and taking of orders
7.15 pm – Game time!
9.30 pm – Group photo-taking and more cam whoring
9.35 pm – Free & easy
10.30 pm – End

Since this is our first meet up, the above is just a tentative program flow. The most important thing is everyone gets to know more friends and have good fun together!

This event is open to both members and non-members. Invite your friends too. If you have not sign up, simply register now!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

First Board Games Meetup Coming Soon!

Yeah after such a long time we finally get to organize our first upcoming board games meetup. We are planning to kick off our first meetup on the 5th of August.

If the response is good we definitely would like to make this a regular monthly event!



This board games meetup is to provide an opportunity for everyone to make more friends and enjoy board games together. You might also get a chance to challenge our staff at some of the games.

Information

Date: Tuesday 5th August 2007
Time: 7.00pm to 10.30pm
Venue: Pitstop Cafe
Charges: No charges and there will be a free flow of drinks as well!
Number: 25 pax

You will need to register for the event at the Pitstoppers Network.

We are still planning on the games that we are going to play for the evening as well as other promotions. The Ticket to Ride series seem like a good theme for the evening.

What do all of you think? Do provide us with some of your suggestions and sign up soon!

Pitstop Cafe, first meetup coming soon!

astro

On Reservation

Just a short note to remind everyone that when you make an online reservation, the reservation is confirm. If it is not available,then we will contact you. Hence it is not necessary to request for further email confirmation. Hope this clear some doubts.



If there are changes in the reservation, do let us know in advance so that we can make the space available to others.

A group has made a reservation for 40 person and less than 20 person actually turn out. We ended up having to turn down other groups.

So help us out and keep us a call if there are changes. Thanks and we greatly appreciate it!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

Say Cheese!

It is always a joy to see all the fun poses that people do when taking their photos at Pitstop Cafe.



This is also why at Pitstop Cafe, apart from providing printing service for the photos, we also upload the pictures online for you to view it and remember the fun times that you had!

The problem is that uploading the pictures can be a pretty time consuming process. So the question to all you folks is that are you guys aware that you can access your pictures online? Is this a service that you find useful?

So share your thoughts with us. This will help me to better gauge on how often we should upload the photos.

We love pleasing you guys so do drop us your comments!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

Story of Char Siew Bao - Part 3

After the first 2 sequel, it turns out that there is a third part to the Char Siew Bao story. Wah never know that we got a trilogy in the making. Hear it goes...

Seeing that Lian Rong Bao and her are not that compatible, Char Siew Bao went on a date with Rou Bao. They went to catch the sad movie. However Char Siew Bao did not cry this time. Instead, Rou Bao started crying. Why?

Have a cool weekend!

For those who missed the earlier parts:
Story of Char Siew Bao Part 1
Story of Char Siew Bao Part 2

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

You Got Mail

We receive a nice and short email in our inbox. Attached were 2 photos and a short and sweet message....


Kath with her pals...


Crew for the day, Winston & Zek

"Thanks for a lovely evening. Me and my pals had a great time." - Kath

Great job guys!

It is really nice of Kath to spend the time to drop us an email. Her words are definitely an encouragement to us.

It is a reminder to the Pitstop Team that the effort that everyone put in to provide a good experience for our customers does make a difference.

Pitstop Team, Kambatei!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun

astro

Happy Birthdays!

Yesterday must be the day where all the planetary elements aligned. We got 4 folks celebrating their birthdays at Pitstop Cafe.

Check out the pictures! Lotsa of babes!

Now sing along with me with your most sexy voice...

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to all of you, happy birthday to you!"

Whee! Hot babes! The birthday girl even got one of male staff to do a pole dance sing a birthday song for her.



More babes!!! The birthday princess was really popular and in the end there were more folks coming for the celebration than the number of pax reserved. Apologies for the squeeze!



Whee whee whee! It's really getting hot in here!

But there's more. This entry is dedicated to the chioest babe for the day....





Aint he hot!!! The one and only Mr Smith.



Even aunty loves him!

Ok here comes the emotional part. If you don't want to hear an old uncle blabbering away, this is the best time to go back to whatever you are doing.

Seeing Smith really brought back a lot of memories. This is his 3rd birthday celebration at the cafe! From being a customer, to become one our staff, to starting his own career, to putting on extra weight, the relationship has definitely come a long way!

He is one of the many relationships that were forged over the 2 year plus of the cafe humble existence, from the crew to the customers.

While it is impossible for us to know everyone that comes to the cafe, it is always being a delight when the crew see familiar faces back at the cafe

Will there be a 4th birthday or even a 10th birthday celebration at Pitstop Cafe? Nobody knows what the future holds. But what I know for sure is that it has been an amazing journey and it is really a privilege for us to know that Pitstop Cafe has being a part (no matter how tiny) of you.

Sob sob sob....now where is the tissue...

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

The Trust Game

This is an update for those who had tried the trust game. For me, i had chosen to give 100% in all 3 rounds. The first 2 rounds where not bad, the recipients return half of the overall sum that they received. I then got screwed in the last round when someone got greedy and decided to keep everything!

However base on research studies on the game, generally those who show high level of trust get the best outcome as people in general (excluding those fufus in my case) feel the need to reciprocate.



The surprising finding for this game is that people who show partial trust generally fare worse than those who show very little trust! Another interesting note is that women show greater reciprocity in both punish and reward compared to men.

I guess when it comes to trust, i guess you either show complete trust or total mistrust. Having partial trust usually result in a less than optimum outcome.

Last but not least, the most important point to note....Never offend a women!.

Do you agree with this findings?

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

Hey That's Rude

I wonder if it is rude to enter someone's conversation. This is what i caught myself sometimes doing it at the cafe.

When i heard customers discussing on the rules of the game or playing the game incorrectly, i sometimes interrupted the conversation without been invited. For example:

"That is not allowed. For 3 and few players, you can only build on one side of the track" - To a small group of players playing the popular Ticket to Ride game and arguing over the interpretation of the rule.

"Actually your opponent will score one point when you passed." - To a Taboo player who is rapidly passing every taboo cards he draw till he got the card with the word "Forehead".

"Eh most Euro games don't use a dice.." - To a customer who was looking lost and asking her friends where are the dices.

"We are just opposite the Shin Pub and above the roast duck store..." - To a customer guiding his lost friends to our secret location.

I read an interesting article recently and it made me wonder that if I was perceive as helpful (i am really trying to be) or was i intrusive or even rude (really not my intention)?



An example was given in the article. Say you were in Dublin, Ireland and you asked someone for direction. Even though people might overheard your request, no one would offer to point you in the right direction. The Irish would consider it rude to enter a dialogue without being directly addressed. Rather than considered being a helpful stranger as one would be in America, you would appear to be intrusive.

So what do you think apply for Singapore? Share your thoughts and let me know if i had being rude.

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

The Last Words

The last words of a mafia hitman...

Who put the violin in the violin case!!?

hahaaa hope you find that funny.

I believe most of you must be pretty familiar with the mafia theme from both movies and video games.

Did you know that even in board games, there are some pretty fun games based on the mafia theme.

Family Business



This is game on mob warfare and it bring to a new level of backstabbing and revenge, which makes it such a blast to play.

Every player controls a 'family' and plays various cards to try and kill off other players' family mafia members.

Of course with such a game structure, it's possible for everyone to gang up on one unlucky soul, or for the damage to be fairly evenly spread.

Either way, you hope that your mafia family is the last one standing!

Ca$h 'n Gun$



The mafia had finished robbing a bank and now at an abandoned warehouse, the gangsters are splitting the loot.

There is a slight problem. They can’t get an agreement on the split. Well it is up to the guns to do the talking then!

This game is lots of fun with all the bluffing and tough negotiation. Throw in an undercover cop and you will have a killing time with this game!

So if you are looking for some mafia fun, drop by Pitstop Cafe and give these games a try!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

Story of Char Siew Bao - Part 2

Yes, the answer to the previous question is quite "cold". Was sneezing as i am typing this. To make thing worse, Eve follow up with the second question...

Seeing that Mantou is heartless, Char Siew Bao decided to go on a date with Lian Rong Bao instead. They went to catch the sad movie. Again this time round Char Siew Bao cried and not Lian Rong Bao. Why?

Have a cool weekend!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

Story of Char Siew Bao - Part 1

Every once in a while, Eve will suddenly sms me on my phone with some weird questions...

Today, i got this sms in my phone.

Char siew bao and mantou went on a date to watch a sad movie. Char siew bao cried but mantou did not. Why?

Anyone like to make a guess?

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

Lets play a game

I had played a game in class yesterday which i thought was pretty interesting to share with everyone and see how you guys will play it.

The game consists of 3 rounds. You have to make a decision at the end of each round before you knowing the scenario in the following round.


The story
You have a sum of money which you can choose to give away. Every $1 you give, the recipient get 3 times. So if you give $10, the recipient gets $30. The recipient then has a choice to give you back any amount that he receive, including the option of giving back nothing.

For 3 rounds, there will be different recipients and you don't know how much you are getting back till the end of the 3 rounds. Both parties know about the rules above and the sum of money that you have.


Round 1:
You have $100 as your pool of money. How much would you give? Decide first before scrolling down.









Round 2:
You have $100,000 as your pool of money. How much would you give? Decide first before scrolling down.









Round 3:
You have $1,000,000 as your pool of money. How much would you give?

I had chosen to give 100% of my money. Of course one might say that in real life no one will do that. However the reason for choosing to give 100% is that ideally I believe that it is the best case because i believe that people will reciprocate.

Imagine my shock when some of the participant say that they will give zero because they feel that if they were the recipients, they will give back zero!

I am not sure it is because it is different cultures, different experience or simply because i am naive. Anyway i will share the findings next week on the outcome of this game as well as research findings on this game played with real money when it become available.

So stay tuned and at the meantime share with me how you would play this game.

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!
astro

Amazing Talent

This is really amazing and ingenious. Someone actually manage to create a paper model of a 4 stroke engine. Yes the whole thing is made of paper!




Not only does the model look realistic, the paper model actually pump like a real engine! Check out the video and see it in action.



It must take hell amount of thinking and design to come out a model like that using mainly paper. The artist has spend 2 years working on it! If you are interested, you can even consider purchasing the DIY Kit and try to piece the whole beast together.

It goes to show that no matter what you do, if you put your heart and soul into it, you can achieve something amazing.

So go on, do your amazing stuff!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

A creative performance

Remember the popular Japanese show where participants had to come out with a skit that is both entertaining and creative? Check out the videos below. Great stuff!

Ping pong in matrix style



Have you came across any interesting video? Let us know!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro

A new cool way to view photos

Finding it hard to find your photos that you had taken at Pitstop Cafe? You can now use PicLens to easily browse through the recently updated photos.

Give it a try. Simply click on the PicLens Enabled button at the right hand menu.

For those who like the 3D experience, you can download the plugin at http://wwww.piclens.com

Insprational Speech by Dr. Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture

I stumbled upon this lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch and thought it was really a good inspiring lecture to share with everyone. What happened was that Dr Randy Pausch has only a couple of months to live and he gave a last lecture to his students. It became popular and he was subsequently invited to share more of his story...



It kind of bring back the memories of why we had started out Pitstop Cafe. It was simply to achieve a dream.

I remember having an online discussion with one particular folk. During the discussion, we had different view points. So he said, "No offense, but how long had you run your cafe? I been an entrepreneur for x amount of years and invited to schools to give talk..." I guess his point is that he being an entrepreneur represent some superiority.

I feel that many folks oversell the idea of being an entrepreneur. In my opinion, it is just one of the many possible paths to achieving one dreams.

You don't need to be an entrepreneur to realize your dreams.

I hope the video is an inspiration to everyone to continuously strive for their dreams no matter what you are doing! So do share your dreams and let us know how you manage to realize it!

astro

Pitstop @ The Quest (Finding Nebo)

With great partnership comes even greater value for our pitstoppers!

As part of the celebration of our new venture in Downtown East.
We are proud to be involved in The Quest , NTUC's version of the amazing race for YOUTH!

In this race, YOUths are required to form into groups of 4-5 and travel around Singapore. Along the way, there will be riddles and obstacles to clear. Most importantly, participants will experience a fun and exciting time, not to mention attractive prizes to be won!

So, if you are aged between 12-25, and able to form a crew of 4-5 people, just send us all your name, ic no. and contact no. and we will hook you up for the race.

Wait a minute! If you are a Pitstopper, sign up with us at a special rate of $5/- per person (U.P $15) and on top of that we will also give you an exclusive one year nEbo membership!

Do drop us an email at Pitstopcafe@gmail.com, or come down to Pitstop cafe or contact Timothy Boay @ 94306979 to sign up now!

Pitstop cafe, bigger means better value for Pitstoppers!

Tim

Pitstop Cafe in Malaysia

Thanks to the wonderful job by the Pitstop Team in Malaysia, the first Pitstop outlet in Malaysia was finally opened last month. Check out the actions over there at http://pitstopcafemy.blogspot.com. The team in Singapore made a trip up north to give a helping hand and of course we wanna be part of the exciting action! Check out the pictures below.



Pitstop Cafe Malaysia! New look but the same fun place!


A cozy place where one can relax and just engage in fun games with friends!

Blank walls at the moment...But with the Pitstop fun and creative style, i have no doubt that the walls will soon be filled with photographs and creative drawings from all the cool Pitstoppers over there.


Alfie sharing a game of Cloud 5

Teaching games can be quite a challenge considering that Mandarin is more commonly used over there rather than English. Nevertheless not much sweat for Alfie as he shows that language is no barrier when it comes to fun with board games!



Long flight of stairs seems to be another trademark of Pitstop Cafe...


Another nice cozy corner upstairs with a clear view that you can even see Singapore...

Ok i am joking about that but nevertheless it is still a very nice and relaxing corner.


Alfie sharing more games with the Pitstop team in Malaysia...

Teaching of games is an important element in the Pitstop experience. While we can't say we know every games, we definitely take the effort to learn the popular well. In this way we can explain these games with fellow Pitstoppers without having them go through the complicated rulebooks.


With the Pitstop Team in Malaysia

Do pop by to http://pitstopcafemy.blogspot.com and say hi to them!

Congrats again to MingLuen and Panda for the great job done in bringing the Pitstop experience to Malaysia. Definitely looking forward to more fun times ahead!

Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!

astro